{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "GLACIAL LANDFORMS/PROCESSES"}
[{"awards": "1542930 Harbor, Jonathan", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-14.5 -71.5,-13.09 -71.5,-11.68 -71.5,-10.27 -71.5,-8.86 -71.5,-7.45 -71.5,-6.040000000000001 -71.5,-4.630000000000001 -71.5,-3.220000000000001 -71.5,-1.81 -71.5,-0.4 -71.5,-0.4 -71.86,-0.4 -72.22,-0.4 -72.58,-0.4 -72.94,-0.4 -73.3,-0.4 -73.66,-0.4 -74.02,-0.4 -74.38,-0.4 -74.74,-0.4 -75.1,-1.81 -75.1,-3.22 -75.1,-4.63 -75.1,-6.04 -75.1,-7.45 -75.1,-8.86 -75.1,-10.27 -75.1,-11.68 -75.1,-13.09 -75.1,-14.5 -75.1,-14.5 -74.74,-14.5 -74.38,-14.5 -74.02,-14.5 -73.66,-14.5 -73.3,-14.5 -72.94,-14.5 -72.58,-14.5 -72.22,-14.5 -71.86,-14.5 -71.5))", "dataset_titles": "Andersen, Jane L and Newall, Jennifer C and Fredin, Ola and Glasser, Neil F and Lifton, Nathaniel A and Stuart, Finlay M and Fabel, Derek and Caffee, Marc and Pedersen, Vivi K and Koester, Alexandria J and others\r\nA topographic hinge-zone divides coastal and inland ice dynamic regimes in East Antarctica\r\nCommunications Earth \\\u0026 Environment, 2023; Andersen, JL and Newall, JC and Blomdin, R and Sams, SE and Fabel, D and Koester, AJ and Lifton, NA and Fredin, O and Caffee, MW and Glasser, Neil F and others\r\nIce surface changes during recent glacial cycles along the Jutulstraumen and Penck Trough ice streams in western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica\r\nQuaternary Science Reviews, 2020; APPLICATIONS OF IN SITU 14C TO GLACIAL LANDSCAPES IN SWEDEN AND ANTARCTICA; Cosmogenic nuclide data from Field Season 3 of Mapping, Measuring, and Modeling Geomorphology and Ice Change in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica; Suganuma, Yusuke and Kaneda, Heitaro and Mas e Braga, Martim and Ishiwa, Takeshige and Koyama, Takushi and Newall, Jennifer C and Okuno, Jun\u2019ichi and Obase, Takashi and Saito, Fuyuki and Rogozhina, Irina and others\r\nRegional sea-level highstand triggered Holocene ice sheet thinning across coastal Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica\r\nCommunications Earth \\\u0026 Environment, 2022", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200566", "doi": "10.1038/s43247-022-00673-6", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ICE-D: Antarctica", "science_program": null, "title": "Andersen, Jane L and Newall, Jennifer C and Fredin, Ola and Glasser, Neil F and Lifton, Nathaniel A and Stuart, Finlay M and Fabel, Derek and Caffee, Marc and Pedersen, Vivi K and Koester, Alexandria J and others\r\nA topographic hinge-zone divides coastal and inland ice dynamic regimes in East Antarctica\r\nCommunications Earth \\\u0026 Environment, 2023", "url": "https://version2.ice-d.org/antarctica/publication/960/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200567", "doi": "10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106636", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ICE-D: Antarctica", "science_program": null, "title": "Andersen, JL and Newall, JC and Blomdin, R and Sams, SE and Fabel, D and Koester, AJ and Lifton, NA and Fredin, O and Caffee, MW and Glasser, Neil F and others\r\nIce surface changes during recent glacial cycles along the Jutulstraumen and Penck Trough ice streams in western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica\r\nQuaternary Science Reviews, 2020", "url": "https://version2.ice-d.org/antarctica/publication/137/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200568", "doi": "10.1038/s43247-022-00599-z", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ICE-D: Antarctica", "science_program": null, "title": "Suganuma, Yusuke and Kaneda, Heitaro and Mas e Braga, Martim and Ishiwa, Takeshige and Koyama, Takushi and Newall, Jennifer C and Okuno, Jun\u2019ichi and Obase, Takashi and Saito, Fuyuki and Rogozhina, Irina and others\r\nRegional sea-level highstand triggered Holocene ice sheet thinning across coastal Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica\r\nCommunications Earth \\\u0026 Environment, 2022", "url": "https://version2.ice-d.org/antarctica/publication/954/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200569", "doi": "10.4231/MVZ8-6F71", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Purdue University Research Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "Cosmogenic nuclide data from Field Season 3 of Mapping, Measuring, and Modeling Geomorphology and Ice Change in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica", "url": "https://purr.purdue.edu/publications/5088/1"}, {"dataset_uid": "200565", "doi": "10.25394/PGS.22696426", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Hammer Research Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "APPLICATIONS OF IN SITU 14C TO GLACIAL LANDSCAPES IN SWEDEN AND ANTARCTICA", "url": "https://hammer.purdue.edu/articles/thesis/APPLICATIONS_OF_IN_SITU_14C_TO_GLACIAL_LANDSCAPES_IN_SWEDEN_AND_ANTARCTICA/22696426?file=40356385"}], "date_created": "Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Reconstructing and predicting the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to climate change is a major challenge facing the Earth Science community. Computer models of ice sheet behavior are central to addressing this challenge. In this project we tested and improved ice-sheet models by comparing model predictions of past ice extent to the geologic record in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. This innovative project collected key geologic data from mountains called nunataks that extend above current and former ice levels that can be used as \"dipsticks\" to reconstruct changes in ice elevation that will be used to improve the models. The end result is both much better knowledge of past three-dimensional changes of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and improved models that allow for more accurate simulations of potential future changes in the ice sheet. This research fills critical gaps in the geologic record of the pattern and timing of vertical changes in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in western Dronning Maud Land, by focusing on areas that are critical for differentiating between possible models of past ice sheet configuration. \r\nReconstruction of ice-sheet surface changes involved mapping and cosmogenic nuclide dating of glacially sculpted bedrock, ice-marginal moraines, and erratic boulders at different elevations on nunataks. Patterns of in situ 10Be, 26Al, 14C, and 21Ne concentrations and ratios enabled inferences about the timing and magnitude of changes in maximum ice-surface elevations and periods of burial by non-erosive (cold-based) ice. Results are being integrated with data from other areas to provide insight into changes across the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet, and into the role of large ice sheets in climate evolution and global sea level changes. The field-based results provide constraints against which predictive ice sheet models are being tested and improved, contributing to glaciology, climate and Quaternary science. Broader impacts of this study also advanced the development of the next generation of STEM students and polar scientists. While gaining experience in international collaboration, field and laboratory methods, data analysis, and modeling, two graduate students worked with teachers to develop, implement, and disseminate standards-based lesson plans for student activities linking this research to learning objectives for middle school science.", "east": -0.4, "geometry": "POINT(-7.45 -73.3)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Nunataks; GLACIAL LANDFORMS/PROCESSES; Geochronology; GLACIATION; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; GLACIER THICKNESS/ICE SHEET THICKNESS; GLACIAL LANDFORMS; Dronning Maud Land", "locations": "Dronning Maud Land", "north": -71.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lifton, Nathaniel; Harbor, Jonathan", "platforms": null, "repo": "ICE-D: Antarctica", "repositories": "Hammer Research Repository; ICE-D: Antarctica; Purdue University Research Repository", "science_programs": null, "south": -75.1, "title": "Mapping, Measuring and Modeling Geomorphology and Ice Change in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010562", "west": -14.5}, {"awards": "1744895 Lamp, Jennifer", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica is one of the coldest, driest, and windiest places on the planet, and is often used as a comparison for the surface of Mars. It is also the largest ice-free region of Antarctica, and thus its deposits and landforms contain unique records of past climate not accessible elsewhere in the Antarctic continent or the world. In order to accurately interpret any geologic feature, however, we must understand how it forms and changes through time. In particular, in the Dry Valleys, we have a poor understanding of the rates and causes of one of Earth\u0027s most fundamental geologic phenomenon - physical rock breakdown. For example, the Dry Valleys lack moisture, which is thought to play a key role in rock breakdown in most other locations on the planet. What serves to fracture rocks in this seemingly inert environment? This project aims to answer that question by \u0027listening\u0027 as rocks crack in the Dry Valleys. We will instrument boulders with sensors that act as miniature seismographs, recording even the smallest microcracking on and within the rocks. At the same time, we will monitor the weather and environment around the rocks to record the conditions that trigger cracking events. While we collect these data, we will gather rock samples from deposits of different ages (from thousands to millions of years old) in the Dry Valleys. Measurements on these samples will allow us to see how quickly rocks breakdown and how their characteristics change over geologic time. The combined datasets will allow future scientists to more accurately understand the paleoclimates and landscapes of Antarctica, and possibly even Mars. This project will also serve to support two female investigators in a field where women are still largely underrepresented. The project will also provide unique exposure and experience to students, ranging from elementary students to the undergraduate and graduate students who will be working directly on various aspects of the project. Technical Abstract Rocks in the McMurdo Dry Valleys experience some of the lowest erosion rates on Earth. However, our current understanding of the relative role that different weathering factors (moisture, freezing temperatures, thermal cycling, salt crystallization or hydration, and wind abrasion) play in these and other environments is limited. Further, in the Dry Valleys, there has been no systematic evaluation of the variance in weathering and associated rock erosion rates, which may change significantly as a function of subaerial exposure duration, lithology, and texture. This research seeks to (1) characterize the primary drivers of rock breakdown, (2) better quantify erosion rates, and (3) determine the lithological and environmental factors that influence weathering and erosion in the Dry Valleys. Rock breakdown (cracking) will be recorded in real-time on in situ boulders using a custom acoustic emission monitoring system. By coupling acoustic emission data with micrometeorological measurements at and near rock surfaces, this study will directly test hypotheses relating to the environmental drivers of rock breakdown under this unique polar desert climate over short (minute to monthly) timescales. Cosmogenic nuclide techniques including a novel combination of 6 isotopes (Be-10, Al-26, He-3, Ne-21, Cl-36, C-14) together with rock property measurements (e.g., strength, elastic moduli, thermal properties) will be used to elucidate the complex relationship between long-term (kyr to Myr) boulder erosion rates, lithology, rock properties, and subaerial exposure duration. By synthesizing these measurements with short-term cracking data from the acoustic emission system, the proposed work will thoroughly examine which lithological and environmental factors and grain-scale processes are driving geomorphic evolution in the Dry Valleys. By constraining boulder erosion rates and determining their sensitivity to rock properties and age, the results will be directly applicable to cosmogenic nuclide exposure age studies in this region. Additionally, the resulting information on weathering processes and their relationship to rock morphology in the Dry Valleys can be used to address hypotheses as to formation of similar rock morphologies on Mars. The Project Investigators will participate in an elementary school outreach program run by Gonzaga University, and the project will support an undergraduate and graduate student. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Erosion; Rock Weathering; GLACIAL LANDFORMS/PROCESSES; Fracture Propagation; Cosmogenic Dating; Dry Valleys", "locations": "Dry Valleys", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lamp, Jennifer; Schaefer, Joerg", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Landscape Evolution in the McMurdo Dry Valleys: Erosion Rates and Real-time Monitoring of Rock Breakdown in a Hyperarid, Subzero Environment", "uid": "p0010511", "west": null}]
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| Project Title/Abstract/Map | NSF Award(s) | Date Created | PIs / Scientists | Dataset Links and Repositories | Abstract | Bounds Geometry | Geometry | Selected | Visible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mapping, Measuring and Modeling Geomorphology and Ice Change in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
|
1542930 |
2026-04-29 | Lifton, Nathaniel; Harbor, Jonathan | Reconstructing and predicting the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to climate change is a major challenge facing the Earth Science community. Computer models of ice sheet behavior are central to addressing this challenge. In this project we tested and improved ice-sheet models by comparing model predictions of past ice extent to the geologic record in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. This innovative project collected key geologic data from mountains called nunataks that extend above current and former ice levels that can be used as "dipsticks" to reconstruct changes in ice elevation that will be used to improve the models. The end result is both much better knowledge of past three-dimensional changes of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and improved models that allow for more accurate simulations of potential future changes in the ice sheet. This research fills critical gaps in the geologic record of the pattern and timing of vertical changes in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in western Dronning Maud Land, by focusing on areas that are critical for differentiating between possible models of past ice sheet configuration. Reconstruction of ice-sheet surface changes involved mapping and cosmogenic nuclide dating of glacially sculpted bedrock, ice-marginal moraines, and erratic boulders at different elevations on nunataks. Patterns of in situ 10Be, 26Al, 14C, and 21Ne concentrations and ratios enabled inferences about the timing and magnitude of changes in maximum ice-surface elevations and periods of burial by non-erosive (cold-based) ice. Results are being integrated with data from other areas to provide insight into changes across the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet, and into the role of large ice sheets in climate evolution and global sea level changes. The field-based results provide constraints against which predictive ice sheet models are being tested and improved, contributing to glaciology, climate and Quaternary science. Broader impacts of this study also advanced the development of the next generation of STEM students and polar scientists. While gaining experience in international collaboration, field and laboratory methods, data analysis, and modeling, two graduate students worked with teachers to develop, implement, and disseminate standards-based lesson plans for student activities linking this research to learning objectives for middle school science. | POLYGON((-14.5 -71.5,-13.09 -71.5,-11.68 -71.5,-10.27 -71.5,-8.86 -71.5,-7.45 -71.5,-6.040000000000001 -71.5,-4.630000000000001 -71.5,-3.220000000000001 -71.5,-1.81 -71.5,-0.4 -71.5,-0.4 -71.86,-0.4 -72.22,-0.4 -72.58,-0.4 -72.94,-0.4 -73.3,-0.4 -73.66,-0.4 -74.02,-0.4 -74.38,-0.4 -74.74,-0.4 -75.1,-1.81 -75.1,-3.22 -75.1,-4.63 -75.1,-6.04 -75.1,-7.45 -75.1,-8.86 -75.1,-10.27 -75.1,-11.68 -75.1,-13.09 -75.1,-14.5 -75.1,-14.5 -74.74,-14.5 -74.38,-14.5 -74.02,-14.5 -73.66,-14.5 -73.3,-14.5 -72.94,-14.5 -72.58,-14.5 -72.22,-14.5 -71.86,-14.5 -71.5)) | POINT(-7.45 -73.3) | false | false | ||
|
Collaborative Research: Landscape Evolution in the McMurdo Dry Valleys: Erosion Rates and Real-time Monitoring of Rock Breakdown in a Hyperarid, Subzero Environment
|
1744895 |
2025-05-30 | Lamp, Jennifer; Schaefer, Joerg | No dataset link provided | The McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica is one of the coldest, driest, and windiest places on the planet, and is often used as a comparison for the surface of Mars. It is also the largest ice-free region of Antarctica, and thus its deposits and landforms contain unique records of past climate not accessible elsewhere in the Antarctic continent or the world. In order to accurately interpret any geologic feature, however, we must understand how it forms and changes through time. In particular, in the Dry Valleys, we have a poor understanding of the rates and causes of one of Earth's most fundamental geologic phenomenon - physical rock breakdown. For example, the Dry Valleys lack moisture, which is thought to play a key role in rock breakdown in most other locations on the planet. What serves to fracture rocks in this seemingly inert environment? This project aims to answer that question by 'listening' as rocks crack in the Dry Valleys. We will instrument boulders with sensors that act as miniature seismographs, recording even the smallest microcracking on and within the rocks. At the same time, we will monitor the weather and environment around the rocks to record the conditions that trigger cracking events. While we collect these data, we will gather rock samples from deposits of different ages (from thousands to millions of years old) in the Dry Valleys. Measurements on these samples will allow us to see how quickly rocks breakdown and how their characteristics change over geologic time. The combined datasets will allow future scientists to more accurately understand the paleoclimates and landscapes of Antarctica, and possibly even Mars. This project will also serve to support two female investigators in a field where women are still largely underrepresented. The project will also provide unique exposure and experience to students, ranging from elementary students to the undergraduate and graduate students who will be working directly on various aspects of the project. Technical Abstract Rocks in the McMurdo Dry Valleys experience some of the lowest erosion rates on Earth. However, our current understanding of the relative role that different weathering factors (moisture, freezing temperatures, thermal cycling, salt crystallization or hydration, and wind abrasion) play in these and other environments is limited. Further, in the Dry Valleys, there has been no systematic evaluation of the variance in weathering and associated rock erosion rates, which may change significantly as a function of subaerial exposure duration, lithology, and texture. This research seeks to (1) characterize the primary drivers of rock breakdown, (2) better quantify erosion rates, and (3) determine the lithological and environmental factors that influence weathering and erosion in the Dry Valleys. Rock breakdown (cracking) will be recorded in real-time on in situ boulders using a custom acoustic emission monitoring system. By coupling acoustic emission data with micrometeorological measurements at and near rock surfaces, this study will directly test hypotheses relating to the environmental drivers of rock breakdown under this unique polar desert climate over short (minute to monthly) timescales. Cosmogenic nuclide techniques including a novel combination of 6 isotopes (Be-10, Al-26, He-3, Ne-21, Cl-36, C-14) together with rock property measurements (e.g., strength, elastic moduli, thermal properties) will be used to elucidate the complex relationship between long-term (kyr to Myr) boulder erosion rates, lithology, rock properties, and subaerial exposure duration. By synthesizing these measurements with short-term cracking data from the acoustic emission system, the proposed work will thoroughly examine which lithological and environmental factors and grain-scale processes are driving geomorphic evolution in the Dry Valleys. By constraining boulder erosion rates and determining their sensitivity to rock properties and age, the results will be directly applicable to cosmogenic nuclide exposure age studies in this region. Additionally, the resulting information on weathering processes and their relationship to rock morphology in the Dry Valleys can be used to address hypotheses as to formation of similar rock morphologies on Mars. The Project Investigators will participate in an elementary school outreach program run by Gonzaga University, and the project will support an undergraduate and graduate student. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. | None | None | false | false |

